Secrets on the Sea
by Wildwoodluver
Summary: A young women dresses as a boy to keep her identity a secret and ends up on the Black Pearl with Jack and his crew. Everything is going great until her secrets end up putting everyone in danger. Her feelings for Jack leave her unsure of what choices to make and who to trust. Follows her adventure on The Black Pearl and her and Jack's developing relationship.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up with a jolt, lying upright against a wooden table leg. It took a few seconds for me to realize where I was, where I had ended up after a very long few day journey. It was very loud, to the point that I was tempted to remain where I sat, partly hidden from the unruly crowd of drunks. I had never been here before, but I knew from the stories I had heard as a child from old family friend and frequent drunkard, Mr. Bartley. He described his journey with such detail and fervor; it was hard not to picture the place on ones own. This was it. I was sure of it.

I was in Tortuga.

Not ideally where I had hoped I would end up, but this was a prime location for what I was searching for… a way out. Bits of details were coming back to me as I tried to remember exactly how I had gotten here, in this position, knocked out and propped against a table leg. I briefly remembered having an altercation with a woman dressed in a tattered dress. She may have bumped into me…or me into her. I had turned around, ready to walk away when I felt a painful blow to the face. That was all I could recall, at least at the moment. Slowly, I took a deep breath, praying that this woman would be gone and that I could sneak out of here unnoticed and find a place to rest for the remainder of the night.

I began to raise myself up when suddenly I dropped back down with a horrifying realization. I didn't have my hat on anymore. I reached my hands up to my head, feeling around for something that clearly wasn't there anymore. Damn. Squeezing my eyes tightly, I tried to remain calm. Why would anyone take my hat? Had anyone recognized me why I was lying here? It seemed improbable since I was pretty much out of plain sight, but whoever put me here would have seen me. Glancing over my shoulder, I quickly did a sweep of the surrounding area. People seemed pretty preoccupied with themselves and whichever unfortunate looking person had their attention. It was a guarantee that just about every person in here was completely sloshed out of their minds. I think I have a good chance of getting out of this place without drawing too much attention; I just need to find a hat.

Peering over my right shoulder now, I notice a man not too far away with a perfect sized hat; one with enough space to tuck my hair into while also providing great coverage of my face. I slide myself over so that I'm basically under the table at this point, as to get as close as possible to this man. He seems fairly intoxicated so it shouldn't be too difficult. I position my legs so that I can swiftly get up and make my move. You can do this…you can do this… you've gotten this far.

I get up, not with as much grace as I had hoped, but I am up and moving. I brush my dark bangs over my eyes as much as I can and keep my head down. While watching my feet move hastily, I try to peer up as much as I can to check if anyone has taken notice of me. It doesn't appear that I've drawn much attention. Thank God.

I see the man with the hat, laughing with a group of other dirty looking men, presumably pirates. I'm close and nearly within distance of grabbing the hat when one of the men in his group makes eye contact with me. His eyebrows furrow and he cocks his head to the side, appearing to recognize me from somewhere. Oh no. Quickly, I grab an empty rum bottle from the table to my right and throw it subtly but with considerable force in the opposite direction. This causes all the men in the group, and several others in the area to stare in confusion in that direction. I have a mere second to think so I snatch the hat from the man and run full speed out of their sight. While doing so I tuck my long black hair up into the hat and pull it forward so that I blend in with every other drunk man in this tavern. I even stumble a bit for added effect.

I'm just about to exit when I notice a line of drunks waiting to speak with grungy looking man, wearing a blue vest and a haggard expression, sitting at a makeshift desk. He has some papers in front of him in which each of the men in line sign and then is given what looks like a blanket and some sort of pillow. Could this be what I was looking for?

I waited in line for about ten minutes until it was finally my turn.

"Hello lad. Are you interested in filling that void in your life…want to find adventure… not afraid of death…then come join our crew," the grungy looking man said quickly as if he had said it a hundred times over and couldn't care less anymore. He barely looked up at me, which worked out to my advantage.

"It pays nothing and requires intense manual labor for very little if any reward. But hey, you get to be out on the sea for weeks, maybe months at a time. Now doesn't that sound exciting? What'll say?" He glance up at me and put on a forced smile. I don't understand how he got anyone at all to sign up, but I suppose if you're drunk enough…

I returned the smile and simply nodded as I forged my name on the parchment. He handed me a very thin blanket and of course that very flat pillow and signaled me to the docks where the ship was posted. I hurried along out the door, relieved I no longer had to stay in that awful place. I was finally going to be free. My heart started racing, but it wasn't because I was scared, at least not completely. This was going to be the first time I would actually be free. Free from my overbearing father, free from all the expectations. It was finally my time to live my life the way I wanted to and have an adventure! All the stories I've been told my whole life, I was actually about to experience one on my own, and perhaps get to use my sword…I could barely contain my excitement.

A wide smile spread across my face, but it would be nearly impossible to see since I kept my head bowed so low. A little ways a head I noticed a few of the men who were in front of me stepping on board the ship. As I approached it I saw several unfamiliar men bringing cargo on board, one nearly knocking me into the water as he whipped around to get another box.

"Whoa…sorry mate." He caught me by the shoulders and gave me a few hard slaps on the arm and shooed me along. When I knew he wasn't looking I rubbed my arm where he hit me…that really hurt. One of the most important things I had to do was remember that I was supposed to be a man and that I needed to convey that I was much stronger than I actually appeared.

Cautiously, I lifted my head up to see what this ship that I was going to be sailing on actually looked like. I felt my breath hitch in my throat for a moment; the ship was massive. I had never seen a ship this close up before but it was much more daunting than I had ever imagined. The exterior was entirely black, including the sails, which looked to have been patched up in several areas. I stood before the ramp, my heart sinking as I contemplated what I was about to do. Is this really a good idea? What in the world was I getting myself into? Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that this is what I'm supposed to do. This is where I'm supposed to be.

"You didn't change your mind did ya?" I jumped as the man with the scruffy beard who was signing people up appeared beside me. He began to chuckle as he slapped my arm. He smelled horrible.

"Ahhh, it's not nearly as terrifying as it looks lad. You'll be fine. Every young pirate should experience sailing out to the deep sea. And you're fortunate enough to be sailing with the best!" He seemed to be in a much better mood now.

"The name's Gibbs. Well, Mr. Gibbs to you I suppose." He reached out a dirty hand and I shook it as firmly as I could manage.

"Thom…Thomas. I'm Thomas," I said in as deep of a voice as I could muster. I glanced at his face, trying to read whether he bought it or not. It appeared he had.

"Nice to meet you Thomas. So are you just going to stand there or are you going to head on up? Come on lad…take a leap of faith why don't ya. It probably isn't going to kill you."

I took a deep breath and with a slight grin took my first step onto the plank. As I made my way up towards the ship, something felt right. I didn't know what it was but something was pulling me forward and I wasn't turning back.

Behind me I could hear Mr. Gibbs shouting, "Good choice! Welcome to The Black Pearl!"


	2. Chapter 2

_The Black Pearl_. I was on the Black Pearl. My legs felt numb and I was having trouble registering my surroundings. There was no way… _no way_ I was actually aboard the ship that up until recently was believed to be a myth. A ship that made up the stories my uncle used to tell me as a little girl. Let alone, the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Known for its ability to withstand some of the most brutal attacks on the sea to ever occur in history. My mind was racing.

"You lost boy?" The familiar voice was heard but I wasn't aware of where it came from.

"Hello? You alright?" I felt myself start to shake and turned to see the pirate who had nearly knocked me over earlier gripping my shoulders and rocking me back and forth. He was a short man, with an innocent enough looking face. I attempted to wake myself out of my daze so as to give him an answer.

"I'm fine. Sorry. Just lost in thought." I answered deeply.

"Well you best find your way back. We're about to make way so get yourself settled in downstairs and then come help us with the mast. I'm Scrum by the way. I'll be your commander while you're here," He said with a sort of overconfidence that just didn't fit his overall appearance.

"What about the captain?" I asked.

Scrum chuckled forcefully, "The captain? The _captain_ won't have nothin' to do with you new lot. He has better things to worry about. That isn't to say you shuddn't be careful what you say and do when the captn's are in your presence. But you can juss save yourself the trouble and report to me. Now go on."

I began to move towards the stairs, still overwhelmed in thought but trying to look more aware so as to not draw any more concern my way. Once down the stairs, there was a dim-lit hallway will several doors on both sides of the wall. I saw a couple younger guys ahead of me who entered the last door on the left so I followed them. This door led to another set of stairs, which took me down to what I could only assume to be my new living quarters. It was a very large space, filled with hammocks and netting. There were about twelve men down there currently, placing their blankets and pillows on hammocks. Some were still very obviously drunk and pretend fighting each other. Or at least I think they were pretending. I placed my blanket and pillow on a hammock in the corner and hurried off back upstairs, wanting to avoid any possible confrontations. Real or not.

The dim hallway was empty at the moment and I was tempted to see what was in each of the rooms. I'm sure one of them had to be the kitchen; one maybe was the dining area? And one room was definitely the captain's quarters… I had just reached the end of the hall. I slowly made my way up stairs when a thought had just occurred to me. I stepped forward, onto the deck, my feet moving me but my mind elsewhere. This is the Black Pearl. That would mean the captain is…

And that's when I saw him. There was no question in my mind whether it was him or not. It had to be. He looked almost identical to how my uncle had described in the stories. Long unkempt hair secured by a large hat, dressed head to toe in an assortment of garbs, jewelry, and miscellaneous items. He had a demeanor about him that you both feared and somehow felt drawn to. He was unmistakably Jack Sparrow and captain of this ship.

His face was stoic at the moment, as if deep in thought about something as he made his way aimlessly around the deck. He nodded his head occasionally at certain crewmembers, smiling slightly as he watched everyone prepare to cast off. Mr. Gibbs made his way over to him, opening up what looked like some sort of map and pointing to a specific spot in great haste. Jack simply raised an eyebrow at Mr. Gibbs, nodded, and then said something I couldn't make out.

"Hey you! Lad!" I turned around to see Scrum hastily making his way over to me. I straightened up and grinned slightly.

"Go help Sweepy and Duncan over there with the mast. You know how to work a mast right?"

The truth was I had absolutely no idea how to work any part of the ship. I just didn't know which would be worse, telling him the truth or pretending to know and failing. I stood there, not really knowing what sort of expression I was giving. Not that it mattered much; most of my face was hidden under the hat anyway.

Scum realized this and ducked his head under the hat, "You alive in there? You know how to speak, I heard you earlier!"

He then went to grab my hat but fortunately I have fairly quick reflexes and pulled it tightly to my head.

"No! Please. I…I need to keep my hat on. I have a horribly sensitive skin and the sun really burns my scalp." That was the quickest excuse I could come up with.

"What…even at night?" Shoot.

"Yes. Even at night. The moon. The moon really hurts my head." He just looked at me with a very confused expression on his face for a good fifteen seconds. Then he just shrugged and shooed me over to the mast.

"Hi. Um. Do you need help with the mast? Scum sent me over here to assist you." I called up to two fairly young men who were tying the ropes to part of the ship.

" _Assist_ us?" One of the men chuckled causing the other one to join in.

"Yeah you can _assist_ us. Make sure the mast is secure." I nodded my head and followed the rope that was hanging to where it was hitched. I tugged on it a few times.

"Yes. It's secure." I think. I cringed thinking of what would happen if it wasn't actually secure. That wouldn't be a pleasant conversation.

The two men slid down and landed in front of me, one more gracefully than the other. They were both much taller than me and built like actual pirates. One of them looked as if he had had a drink or two in the last hour. One eye was open slightly more than the other, which gave him a very distorted appearance. The other wasn't too bad looking; he was the tallest and clearly a little younger than the other but had much more of a weathered look to him. As if he has been on this ship for a little bit longer than he should have been.

"What's your name?" Asked the tall one.

"Thomas."

"Thomas what?"

"Bennet. Thomas Bennet." Bennet was the last name of my closest friend back at home. It seemed to fit.

"And where do you come from Thomas Bennet?" The drunk one asked, as if he was suspicious of me already.

"I don't really have a home. I was born in Port Royal. Grew up there for a while, then started traveling. Now I'm here."

"Yeah your speak like you were born in Port Royal. Bunch of snobs they are. I'm Duncan. This is Sweepy." Duncan pointed a finger over to the drunk one. "We've been on this ship for a while. If you have any questions just ask us. We aren't too bad. Just don't piss us off, you got it?" I nodded, unsure of whether I trusted them or not.

The ship started moving so I made my way over to the edge so I could see Tortuga slowly disappear. Even though we weren't moving fast, the breeze felt fantastic, if only I could let my hair out and truly relax.

Looking down at the dock I saw two young women wearing large gowns and even from this distance you could tell their faces were covered in makeup. They were waving and yelling something I couldn't entirely understand.

Suddenly I saw figure appear next to me at the corner of my eye that made me jump. I peered over and Jack was standing next to me looking down at the two women. Then on my left side another figure appeared, which caused me to jump once again. Gibbs was standing on my other side waving back at the girls with great enthusiasm.

"Yes…yes goodbye ladies! So sad to be leaving you!" He yelled back down at the women. "And yet so very, very, happy." He mumbled towards me as if for my benefit. He chuckled and continued to fake smile and feign heartbreak. It was quite entertaining actually. I turned to look at Jack who wasn't waving nor giving any indication that he cared. He did crack a smile though and turn to Gibbs, completely overlooking me.

"Did you sleep with both of them again?" Jack asked, seemingly amused.

"Maybe." Mr. Gibbs has a huge grin on his face now. He then shoved me playfully. Assuming he wanted some kind of approving response from me I chuckled back and played along. He and Jack then bumped their fists together and continued to wave at them until they were out of sight.

"You know they were really trying to get your attention Jack," Mr. Gibbs said to them once we were a good distance away.

Jack looked thoughtfully out at the ocean and slightly scrunched up his face as if he has just eaten something bad. "There's only so many times you can sleep with the same woman before you get bored. I'm moving on to bigger and better things. Such as…" He then looked down at me for a second as if realizing for the first time I was there.

"Well you know. The sea." Jack said and then mouthed something to Mr. Gibbs. He nodded back. Both of them left, leaving me to try and figure out what they were referring to. After a few minutes of staring out at sea, I went to go explore the deck some more. It seemed like my disguise was working pretty well. I just had to stay invisible and keep my hat on. I saw a mop and bucket sitting close by and figured I'd start cleaning an area of the ship so no one would bother me about not working. In all honesty, the whole thing didn't look like it had ben cleaned in decades, so I didn't mind.

What had felt like at least hour had gone by and no one had said anything. I was about to start mopping the upper part of the ship when I heard yelling coming from up there. It wasn't a familiar voice but the one yelling back was definitely Jack. Before I could think, Scum was right by my side with his arms crossed, looking up where I was staring.

"Don't fret. It's just the Captain."

"Yes but at who is the Captain yelling back at?"

"Jack of course." I looked at him, perplexed. I thought Jack was the captain…

"You mean Jack's not the captain?"

Scum was about to explain when a man with a wooden leg came hustling down the stairs, looking incredibly agitated. I stepped back so that I was completely out of his path and kept my head down low.

Jack followed behind him looking worked up about something.

"You knew this was the plan! That's why we went to Tortuga in the first place!" The one-legged man turned and screamed at Jack.

"Yes Hector but I hadn't didn't realized you were so eager to die again. If that's the case I can just kill you right now," Jack said as he pulled out a gun that was stuck inside his pants.

The one legged man rolled his eyes.

Both men at this point looked around them and realized they had an audience. Almost every crewmember had stopped what they were doing to watch them.

"What are you looking at! Get back to work you good for nothing, lazy brutes!" The one-legged man stormed off down the stairs while Jack placed his gun back into his pants and followed him down.

"That's Captain Barbossa." Scum finally said.

"So _he's_ the Captain?"

He shook his head. "Technically they are _both_ theCaptain."


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long and exhausting week. My legs were so sore; I had to find a secluded area to sit down every hour. My arms gave out almost every time I was asked to carry something. The crew was noticeably frustrated. Fortunately, most of them just rolled their eyes and didn't confront me about my apparent weakness. However, Duncan made a point to laugh at me every single time. And I swear he was giving me the extra heavy supplies on purpose, just to see me struggle.

"You need to toughen up boy. What's gunna happen when we meet some vicious looking creature of the deep and you can't keep your sword up?" Scrum said to me one morning, after I had dropped the bucket of water I had been carrying.

"Sorry Scrum." I mumbled and began mopping the area closest to the stern of the ship. As much as I was struggling on the ship, I didn't regret my decision. I had known going into this that it wasn't going to be easy.

I must admit though, every time one of the Captains walked by I tensed up. Jack wasn't nearly as frightening as Barbossa but I still didn't want him to see me failing. Although he always looked as if he was somewhat drunk, Jack was much wiser than he actually appeared. I got the impression he was very intuitive. Earlier in the week he predicted that a storm was coming while there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A few hours later, he was right. Not only that but he knew that one of the crew was stealing and was able to tell who it was without even thinking twice about it. The man confessed everything for fear of his wrath. Jack locked him in the brigs for a dew days. But that's what scared me; he just knew things. I didn't know how much longer I could pull off pretending to be a boy before he got suspicious. So I avoided his presence any time I could.

Barbossa was an entirely different issue. He didn't show up where I was very often, but when he did he bellowed orders in a way that would make any man on this ship want to curl up into a ball and hide. I found myself constantly on edge, preparing to jump at the sound of his voice. However, his voice isn't what made me the most nervous. On multiple instances, he passed by me, quickly glancing over the work I was doing, but his monkey always looked right at me for a much longer period of time. It may sound crazy, but it really got me worried. He even started jumping up and down on Barbossa's shoulder and pointing at me yesterday. Luckily, Barbossa was distracted with a much more important issue at the time, so he couldn't be bothered.

My stomach began to rumble. The food on this ship wasn't great and we didn't get fed often, which made the manual labor even more challenging. Looking up at the sun, it had to be nearly noon. I was getting better at determining the time of day by just using the sun's position. They would be serving lunch hopefully very soon.

The heat was starting to make me feel faint. I needed to get inside and rest without being noticed.

"You alright mate? You lookin' pale," stated a grungy, older looking pirate. He was mindlessly wiping down the same part of the balcony over and over again with a rag. He'd been doing this for some time now.

Before I could answer Mr. Gibbs was before us, carrying that map again.

"Vick, have you ever heard this place?" He had the map in front of the old man who was inspecting it closely. He shook his head.

"Great." Mr. Gibbs mumbled sarcastically. I then noticed him looking over at me.

"You don't look so good."

"That's what I said," Vick chimed in.

Mr. Gibbs moved closer to me, so I kept my head down.

"I'm fine. Just hungry." I retorted.

He grasped my shoulder and tried looking under my hat to read my expression. After a few seconds he tapped my arm and told me to go get some food before the lunch horn sounds. He told me if anyone gave me trouble to just tell that person that Mr. Gibbs said it was okay.

I hurried off, grateful that I wouldn't have to wait in line. Eating would hopefully give me some of my strength back. Hastily, I went down the stairs and into the second door on the right, which was the dining cabin. A large, long table laid out an assortment of food, from bread, to fish, to fruits. There were several things that looked unappetizing but I was in no place to be picky. I went to grab a plate, but when I glanced up, I realized I wasn't alone. Jack Sparrow was standing there picking at what looking like some sort of fish with a fork. His expression was one of utter distaste so he moved along and grabbed some fruit instead. I moved quietly around the table, hoping to not draw any attention. However, eventually he noticed me.

"Not the most appetizing spread of food you've ever seen is it?" I wasn't sure if he was looking for an answer or just muttering to himself. "I swear I've seen this fish before somewhere," He said as he pointed to the fish he was picking at a moment ago. I smiled and nodded.

I was surprised he hadn't asked what I was doing, eating before any of the crew. But he didn't seem to care at all.

"So how's your experience been so far on the Black Pearl lad? Everything you hoped and dreamed it would be?" He flashed a quick smile, awaiting my answer as if he knew it wasn't all it was pegged up to be.

"Great. It's…it's been great. The crews nice." I said as I walked around to the side of the table where he was. It was my plan to avoid getting too close to him but he was standing where all the good food was located and I really wanted some. Jack had put his plate down at this point and was simply leaning against a wooden post, biting into an apple.

He chuckled at my response. "Bloody drunks. All of them, I swear. Never ever trust the drunks," Jack then reached under the table and pulled out a bottle of rum, bit off the top in one swift motion, and began chugging the contents. Was he trying to be sarcastic? Funny? I humored him and chuckled lightly. I stretched over the table to grab a piece of bread when suddenly I felt everything start to sway and my legs give out. My plate dropped to the floor, however before I had hit, I felt myself being lifted upwards. Everything was still spinning but I felt a light few slaps on my face that brought me back to full consciousness. Jack had me propped up and placed me against the wooden post.

"You alright lad?" He was looking into my eyes for the moment, but I quickly closed them shut and started to move away.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Just a little dizzy from the heat that's all." I leaned my head against a different wooden post and tried to move my legs slowly towards the exit. Before I had reached the door, however, Jack was next to me with a new plate of food and had wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"Even so, how about we get you to your bed and have you rest up? We can't afford the crew to be passing out on us right now," He said as he assisted me down the hall. The stairs weren't easy since my legs still felt fairly weak. I pointed in the direction of my hammock and he helped me onto it, passing me my plate of food and a fork.

"Eat and sleep." He said and spun around to leave but then stopped abruptly, as if mulling over something. My heart sunk. Jack then reached into his boot and pulled out a small bottle of what I could only assume was rum and placed it next to me on the hammock. And just like that, with a charming smile and a wink he was gone. I smiled to myself, taken aback by his kindness. I didn't expect him to be so easygoing. Definitely not what I had pictured when my uncle was telling me stories about him and the countless adventures this man had been on.

I woke up to a dark room, dimly lit by the a few candles spread out across the cabin. Placing my now clean plate on the floor, I began to get up. I felt significantly better than earlier. Looking around the room, it was empty save for one man on the other side who was passed out, half naked, in his hammock. Several loud bangs rumbled above me and I heard what I believed to be cheering of some sort. I'm about to leave, when I notice the bottle of rum Jack had given me, still full, on my bed. I grab it and slide it into my boot. If I don't drink, someone else will.

While walking down the hall towards the deck, the cheering and yelling gets louder to the point where I am debating whether I should just go back inside. What in the world could possibly be going on? I decide to take the risk anyway and step onto the deck.

I am immediately enveloped in a sea of men, raising their arms high in the air, some cheering, and some booing. Names are being screamed loudly, I think I make out Duncan and Scrum. Since I'm so tiny I have the advantage of being able to push myself through the crowds of men to the front, holding onto my hat tightly so no one accidently knocks it off.

Once in the front, I see that a large circle has been formed around Duncan and Scrum, both with swords. Duncan has a huge, confident smile on his face while Scrum looks somewhat defeated, yet still determined.

"Kick his ass Duncan!" Someone screams from the other side of the circle and a good deal of men chime in with agreement. To my left I notice Jack, Barbossa, and Mr. Gibbs all staring in amusement at the swordfight; Barbossa has a large bottle in his hand and passes it along to the other two.

Scrum starts to run at Duncan and just when he looks like he might get him, Duncan twists out of the way and trips Scrum so that he is lying flat on his stomach in defeat. He flips over to face Duncan, who now has the tip of his sword to his throat, smiling arrogantly down at him. Scrum raises both his hands in surrender and the crowd erupts in cheers. I stand there clapping along, secretly wishing Scrum had actually won. Duncan holds out a hand to Scrum who takes it. However, Duncan let's go before Scrum is completely up and he falls back down with a loud thud and the crowd breaks out into hysterics. Scrum rolls his eyes and eventually gets himself up and moves back into the circle. Barbossa then starts walking forward and gives Duncan and congratulatory slap on the back.

"Very nice, very impressive." Barbossa calls out. "Who is the next brave soul who will challenge Sir Duncan to a dual?" Duncan stood there holding out his hands, palms up, and motioning anyone to take him on. The excitement could be felt in the air, and yet no one appeared willing to volunteer. At that moment, I could feel several men shoving each other around behind me, trying to entice each other into stepping up. One of them shoves hard into my back, while another fumbles and knocks me into the circle. I try to steady my legs and regain my balance, but when I do I notice that all eyes are on me. Duncan stares at me in shock for a moment, but then a huge smile spreads across his face. I look around at the crowd who seems amused and then over at Jack whose face went from amused to solemn once he realized who I was. He appeared to be very concerned, as did Mr. Gibbs who was standing next to him, staring at me in confusion. It was clear that they all believed I had volunteered to fight.


	4. Chapter 4

My hearts racing so fast I begin to feel faint again. This was not how you remain invisible. I could barely feel my legs, otherwise I would have run. Barbossa looked me up and down and began to laugh obnoxiously.

"Gentlemen, we have a volunteer!" He shouted and the rest of the circle laughed along. I knew what I had to do. No one would ever let me live it down if I didn't fight. I shoved my hat securely on the head and walked towards Duncan and Barbossa. The laughs soon turned to cheers as I assumed the crowd did not think I was actually going to go through with it. What they didn't know is that I had been trained to swordfight by one of the best swordsman in all of England. I had been practicing since I was five years old. I could do this; I could beat Duncan.

But I didn't want my overconfidence to come back and bite me. I tried to remain calm and optimistic as I shook Duncan's hand. He squeezed it so hard that I thought I might need to fight with the opposite hand. I shook it off, however, and unsheathed my sword from my belt. It was a beautiful sword. One wouldn't believe that a lowly young man like myself was in possession of such a sword, so I hoped that it would go unnoticed. I held it firmly in my right hand, letting the weight adjust in my grasp. Quickly, I looked around at the crowd. Some still looked amused; others look more curious as to what was about to happen. Jack, Mr. Gibbs, and Barbossa all stood there looking fairly serious, awaiting the first move. Duncan as usual looked self-assured, knowing that he probably had a strong advantage over this weak young boy. I gazed back at him from under my hat, wanting to cut that smirk right off his face. If they wanted a show, I'd give them a show.

Duncan slowly approached me, gliding his sword against mine. Trying to scare me. Suddenly, he waved his sword at me and I stopped it just as quickly with my own. We began the fight, dancing around in the circle, our swords constantly colliding. Every now and then I'd hear a gasp or some kind of stunned noise spurt out of the crowd. Duncan's smile had faded at this point. He clearly thought he would have bested me by now and didn't expect this fight to go on so long. His brows were furrowed tightly and he stared at me with a determined focus. In all honesty, this was a piece of cake. He was definitely not the most difficult opponent I had ever faced. In fact, he doesn't even make it into my top five. I flawlessly moved around him, avoiding all of his attacks without a glitch.

He was now getting very irritated. Especially since it had seemed the crowd had turned on him. Every time I made a smart move or nearly hit him, the crowd cheered in response. They were on my side now. I even believe I heard some men yell, "You go little guy!" And "That's it Thomas!" Not going to lie, it felt great.

We'd been going at it for about ten minutes when finally I started to feel my legs start to give out again. This needed to end soon. I pulled out a few tricks my instructor had taught me including a couple spins and low hits, which nearly got him. Finally I pulled out my favorite move, which entailed me distracting him and then sub sequentially knocking him down. I pretended to throw my sword out towards the crowd behind him, cause him to turn quickly. I then knocked out his legs and he fell to the floor with a loud thud. I then did the same move he did with Scrum a short while ago and pointed the tip of my sword to his neck. I've never seen someone look so angry in my life, but I continued smiling. The crowd went wild. I looked around and everyone was cheering my name. For a moment, I took a look over at Jack who had a huge grin on his face, still appearing to be in disbelief. He gave me a nod, as did Mr. Gibbs who was laughing hysterically. Barbossa clapped along as well but didn't seem as happy, more confused, as if he didn't completely understand what just had happened.

I glanced back down at Duncan who was now examining my sword closely. I quickly pulled the sword away and placed it back in its holder. He looked up at me with squinted eyes, as if he suspected I wasn't exactly the person I said I was. My stomach sank a bit, but I wasn't going to let him ruin my victory. The crowd started coming towards me and many of the men gave me slaps on the back and shoulders, which hurt, but at the moment the pain didn't really register.

I looked over my right shoulder to see Jack and Mr. Gibbs coming towards me. Just as I was about to say something to them, I felt an excruciating pain in side and I went flying across the deck. Duncan had run into me and began punching me all over. I raised my arms to shield my face but the pain was unbearable. I screamed for help and within seconds he was being pulled off of me.

"What the hell mate? What's wrong with you?" I heard someone yell at Duncan. I remained on the ground, my arms still covering my face. Trying my best not to cry, I moved so that I was in a seated position. A couple people were by my side but I couldn't tell who they were. Suddenly, I heard several gasps. I reached up to my head and that's when I realized my hat was gone and saw my long hair flowing down past my shoulders. I braved a look up at everyone.

The entire crew was staring at me, wide-eyed in disbelief.


	5. Chapter 5

"He's…he's a girl. Thomas is a girl…" Scrum stuttered next to me. Meanwhile Mr. Gibbs was on my other side, slumping onto the deck, sitting there, staring at me in shock. Just then Jack and Barbossa pushed their way through the crowd. I'm not sure why but the only person I was really terrified of being angry with me was Jack.

He just stood there, his brow creased, and eyes slightly wide. Everyone looked very, very confused, as would be expected. I tried to form words to speak, but I couldn't. My face was pulsing from all of Duncan's blows, but I tried to ignore it. No one spoke. They were just waiting for me to say something. But what could I possibly say in this moment?

"I'm…I'm sorry I…" That's all I could manage to get out. I looked over at Mr. Gibbs who was staring at Jack and Barbossa, waiting to see what their response to all this would be. I had lied. I knew I was in trouble; I just wasn't sure how much. To my relief, Barbossa looked angrier than Jack. Jack just looked puzzled. As if he just couldn't wrap his head around the notion that this whole time a young woman had been on this ship pretending to be a boy.

"Get her up." Barbossa said suddenly. There was a severity to his tone that frightened me. Scrum and Mr. Gibbs picked me up and each grasped one of my arms.

"What…what should we do with her Sir?" Scrum asked cautiously. Barbossa stepped forward so that he right by my side. It appeared as if he was having some kind of internal debate within himself.

"Kill her!" Duncan yelled. There were a few muffled agreements.

"Make her walk the plank." Someone else had shouted. Barbossa slightly smiled at this suggestion, which worried me. They wouldn't really do that would they?

"Now gents, let's have some fun with her first…" Sweepy said disturbingly as he eyed me up. There were a few more yells of agreement. Chills ran down my spine. Oh no.

Barbossa then turned to Jack who was looking down at the floor now, as if he too was having some great debate of what to do. He then stepped forward, his dark eyes looking into mine now. He looked unsure, worried even. But I wasn't sure of exactly what.

He then turned to look at Barbossa and they stared at one another for a few moments, as if communicating silently. Finally Barbossa said, "Jack and I will discuss what should be done. Until then, lock her in the brigs." He walked away as Mr. Gibbs and Scrum carried me down the stairs and into the dark hallway, down into our sleeping quarters, and then down another set of stairs into a damp, almost pitch black room with bars lining the wall. Mr. Gibbs opened one cell up and gently put me behind the bars. While closing them he looked up at me, with what looked like some sympathy and then left.

"Sorry love." Scrum said before he followed Mr. Gibbs.

It was freezing down here and disturbingly eerie. I sat down on a box in the corner of my cell and closed my eyes. I prayed that this wasn't the end. That this wasn't how was going to die.

I ended up passing out against the cold cell bars. The sound of keys jostling woke me as Mr. Gibbs opened up the door and ushered me out.

"They've come to a decision." He said softly. I wasn't sure if he knew what they had decided or not, but I hurried out of the cell and back up the stairs with him tightly grasping my arm. It's not as if I could run anywhere.

Back upstairs, the crew gathered around in a circle similar to before, except a tad more organized so that everyone could see the center where Jack and Barbossa stood. All eyes were on me as I made my way up to them. Their faces were indiscernible. I could see Duncan, not too far off from my left, with a coy smile on his face, eagerly awaiting my fate.

Turning slowly to face the Captains, I tried to remain brave and look like I wasn't afraid. Even though, I was absolutely terrified.

"Jack and I have deliberated and we've decided that we are going to let you live." Barbossa said while rolling his eyes. I'm guessing he wasn't fond of that decision. There were some yells from the crowd, but Barbossa gave them a hard glare and they were silenced.

"However, there is an island about a 2 days journey from here where we will be dropping you off at. It is going to be up to you to get rescued. We will leave you a pistol with a single shot in it in case you'd like to take that route instead of starving yourself. Understand?" Barbossa said to me and I nodded. It wasn't ideal but at least they weren't going to kill me themselves. I had a feeling Jack had something to do with my verdict and I was grateful. He stayed quiet for most of the discussion, occasionally nodding along and watching my reaction.

When they were finished, I thanked them and Mr. Gibbs guided me back down the stairs. I feared he was taking me back to the cells, however, to my surprise he instead led me to a room down the dim hallway. It was the last door on the right, across from the stairs that led to my prior living quarters. He unlocked the door and led me into a quaint little room with an actual bed, dresser, and vanity. Windows lined the back wall, which shed a bit of moonlight into the room.

"What…what is this?" I asked. Not believing that they were actually going to let me live here.

"Your living quarters for the remainder of your time here. Jack didn't think it was a good idea for you to be left down there with the men." Mr. Gibbs smiled kindly for the first time in what felt like a while. I stared back at him in disbelief, grateful that Jack actually was concerned about what happens to me.

"Thank you." I said to Mr. Gibbs, whom I had hoped would also pass along the message. He nodded and shut the door. So many thoughts were running through my mind but all of it faded away as I laid down in my new bed and drifted off to sleep.

I woke with a start to a strange banging noise coming from outside my door. It was dark out, the moon still illuminating my room. I fumbled out of bed and made my way towards the door. Cautiously I opened it and saw nothing. That was strange. I stepped out a little further to look down the hall. Nothing.

Suddenly I felt a painful blow to the side of my stomach and arms wrap around my neck as well as over my mouth. It tried to scream but it was barely audible. Several dark figures held my legs down as I tried to kick free. They had carried me to the deck, out towards the bow of the ship. There they threw me across the ledge and surrounded me. It was Duncan, Sweepy, and a couple other guys who I recognized from earlier, the ones who were cheering for my death. I attempted to scream but Sweepy slapped me hard across the face. I tried not to let a single tear shed; it wasn't easy. Duncan then had his hand around my neck, suffocating me until I could barely stay conscious. He was muttering something to me about how I would regret what I did, but I couldn't focus on that. I tried to catch some sort of breath, but it wasn't working. I then felt his other cold hand move to undo my belt. Tears streamed out of the eyes.

He was in the process of undoing his own belt when suddenly I dropped to the floor and Duncan went flying. I continued to cough and attempt to catch my breath, not understanding exactly what was happening. However, I could hear a familiar voice.

"You see I thought we made it very clear. She is not to be touched." Jack yelled loudly so that all the men there could hear him and they all began slowly backing away. I glanced up and saw Jack pull out his sword while Duncan remained on the ground, cowering. Jack walked around him in circles for a bit, continuing to point the tip of his sword towards him.

"What part did you fail to understand mate?" Jack was now hunched down to Duncan's level, awaiting his answer.

"I…nothing Sir. We just thought…" He began to mumble.

"No evidently you didn't think. Get up." Jack ordered.

Mr. Gibbs walked over at this time, confused as to what was happening, until he saw me on the ground, beaten with my belt undone. He came over to me and helped me up. He then looked over at Jack who exchanged a glance with him. Mr. Gibbs then nodded in some sort of approval.

Jack looked as if he was turning around and then grasped Duncan by the neck and flung onto the rail. Duncan pleaded for mercy, but it didn't seem to faze Jack. At this point Barbossa had gotten out of bed as well as several other crewmembers to see what was happening. Jack pointed the sword at Duncan and commanded him to get onto the plank. Duncan hesitated for a moment but then Barbossa joined in with his sword.

"Go." Barbossa ordered.

Duncan realized he had no choice and climbed onto the plank. He walked slowly out to the edge, looking back at me one more time in disgust and then jumped. I didn't know how to feel at that moment. Jack turned towards the rest of them.

"Alright then, who's next?" He smiled coyly awaiting for a volunteer. None of them stepped forward so Jack walked towards the group with his sword. Pointing it down the line he said, "If any one else lays a finger on her, you know what will happen. Do I make myself clear? Do I?" He yelled the last part. His expression told me although he was upset he loved every minute of the power.

"You're all cleaning the chamber pots tomorrow. Congratulations." He smirked and watched them shuffle off to bed. No one dared to make eye contact with me.

Jack then turned towards me. He looked me up and down, "You alright love?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you." I looked into his eyes, trying to convey how sincerely grateful I was to him. He smiled slightly and rested his arm around my shoulder. My heart jumped a bit as everyone watched us walk back towards my room.

Once at my door, I began to go in, when he grabbed my arm gently and spun me around to face him. "You sure you're alright?"

I smiled. "I'm sure. I'll be okay. I'm just going to rest. I can't thank you enough." We stared at each other for a moment. Then he nodded and walked back down to his room. For the rest of that night I couldn't sleep. I had one person on my mind that I just couldn't shake.


End file.
